In light of not only Grand Theft Auto 5's impending release, but all the the leaks, it's been difficult to pay attention to much else. So, in the spirit of playing catch up, I turned my eyes towards all the open tabs of my browser, and remembered that once upon a time, I was planning on writing a ditty about this piece of fandom I had been looking forward to with some anticipation.
I'm talking about the Fallout fan film, "Fallout: Lanius," something of an origin story for Fallout: New Vegas's brutish monolith of a man and second in command of Caeasar's Legion, under only the "kai-zar," Legate Lanius. The film was released late last month, but timliness isn't an issue when you're discussing something as well produced as this. Think about it, you know you have that one movie you love. It came out years ago, but if you come out of the shower on a lazy Sunday, and notice that movie is playing on the old boob tube, you'll sit down at the edge of the couch, or bed, or what have you, wet, shriveled body and all, and watch that movie while the air dries you like some Romanesque dictator. "Fallout: Lanius" may not live quite live up to that bar, but it's a damn respectable attempt and I challenge any of you to do better.
The team sourced through greenbacks through crowdsourcing from amateur film supporters and Fallout fans alike, managing to reach their $10,000 goal in April, and another $10,000 on top of that. It's a meager budget by Hollywood standards, but looking at the costumes and props, particularly the infamous mask, you can tell the team spent every red cent, delivering some realy quality stuff. Even Bethesda took notice and made sure to tell everyone via its blog when the movie launched.
If you hear something familiar in the booming timber that is Lanius's voice, it's because the crew managed to get the character's original voice actor Mitch Lewis to reprise his role. Every time the Legate opens his mouth and Lewis's voice comes tumbling out, it's just great, and exactly what you want to hear, like having Kevin Conroy do Batman or David Hayter as Snake.
It's refreshing to actually see Lanius's backstory actually fleshed out, instead of just having to hear about it from snippets of speech from Caesar, Vulpes, and other Legion lackeys.
New Vegas familiars will remember the battle with Lanius as quite the challenge. Not only was he of considerable size, but the guy could move like the wind. He even proved a struggle for pacifists, as defeating him without fighting took a 100 level speech skill, and following the proper path in the conversation tree. In film, the team made sure that Lanius comes across just as challenging as he was in the game, whether during his time with the Hidebarks in his pre-legion days, or at Ceasar's side.
The one problem I have with the film is that it does tend to be a little too reminescent of "300." I won't spoil anything, but there's a good chance you'll see it early on. Still excellent though, and in the end, it's right up there with other acclaimed Fallout short films like "Nuka Break." It remains mostly faithful to the source material, with a few artistic liberties taken here and there, but nothing to scoff at. It's great work by Director Wade Savage, and I hope to see more from him and his team very soon.
You can watch "Fallout: Lanius" for yourselves below.
